Bill to Reduce Tuition for Illegal Immigrants Passes in Hartford

By JENNIFER MEDINA

Published: June 2, 2007

Illegal immigrants who graduate from Connecticut high schools will be eligible for the resident tuition rate at the state's public universities and colleges if the governor signs a bill that the Senate narrowly passed on Friday.

Connecticut would join 10 other states, including New York, that allow illegal immigrants to pay the in-state rate that is available to other residents. Illegal immigrants now often pay twice as much to attend Connecticut's taxpayer-supported colleges and universities.

Aides to Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, said she would not decide whether to sign the bill until she sees its final language, which she had not done Friday.

The Senate approved the bill, 20 to 15, after a three-hour debate in which several Republicans vigorously argued against the measure, saying that it would reward illegal activity. The debate in the House was similarly heated before the bill passed, 76 to 67, on May 17, with several Democrats joining most Republicans to vote against the measure.

''What we're doing here today is trying to incorporate some kids who, through no fault of their own, have arrived in our communities,'' said Jonathan Harris, a Democrat from West Hartford who was the bill's lead sponsor in the Senate. ''They reside in our state. They've gone to four years of high school. They've demonstrated the acumen and the academic success.''

In 2001, Texas was the first state to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. New York passed a similar bill in 2002. Some state legislatures -- including the one in Texas -- have debated laws prohibiting in-state tuition rates for illegal immigrants. Last year, Arizona voters overwhelmingly approved such a ban.

Like most states, Connecticut gives its residents a substantial discount on tuition at publicly supported colleges and universities. For example, the in-state tuition rate per semester at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain is $3,367. Out-of-state students pay $7,727.

Backers of the bill said that the legislation would benefit about 250 of the 109,000 students enrolled in Connecticut's public colleges and universities.

A recent poll commissioned by The Hartford Courant showed that 53 percent of state residents supported the legislation and 41 percent opposed it. The poll, conducted in April and reported last month, had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

Much of the debate in the Senate on Friday focused on whether the bill would give illegal immigrants what opponents called ''special benefits.''

''It is a reward for illegal behavior that we should not be sanctioning,'' said Daniel Debicella, a Republican from Shelton. ''This bill makes a fundamental assumption that illegal immigration is O.K.''

Five amendments sponsored by Republicans, which would have restricted benefits for illegal immigrants on tuition and other matters, were easily defeated.

As the debate came to a close, Senator Edward Gomes, a Democrat from Bridgeport, said the opponents' concerns were misplaced. ''These are not people who did something illegal,'' he said. ''These are people who deserve a chance to be a cornerstone in the community.''